– I know an ecological care. It is difficult to watch a climate documentary before I go to bed. I feel a deep sadness over everything you lose, says climate activist Jonas Kittelsen (25). ECONOMIC CARE: Jonas Kittelsen feels a sadness over everything that is lost. Photo: Ismail Burak Akkan / news Last year, the United Nations (UN) came out with a discouraging climate report. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the report is “code red” for humanity and that we are on the “straight path to climate hell”. The selection of Norwegian climate scientists who took part in Thursday’s edition of the debate do not completely agree. DEFORESTATION: Taking care of the forest we already have, Dag O. Hessen believes, is an essential climate measure. Photo: BRUNO KELLY / Reuters Young people are advised to get involved In the debate on Thursday, the researchers met the climate activists Jonas Kittelsen (Extinction Rebellion Youth), Naja Amanda Lynge Møretrø (Changemaker Norway) and Mia Catherin Haugen Chamberlain (Nature and Youth). SERIOUS CRISIS: Mia Catherin Haugen Chamberlain is happy that the UN Secretary-General is taking the climate crisis seriously. Photo: Ismail Burak Akkan / news – The fact that the world’s politicians are not doing enough leads to a rational fear, says Haugen Chamberlain (24). ANGRY: Well, Amanda Lynge Møretrø used her anger to get involved. Photo: Ismail Burak Akkan / news Lynge Møretrø (26), leader of Changemaker, says that she is angry that the measures being taken are not in line with the climate changes we are facing. To younger people who worry about the climate, she says: – There is hope. It’s about what you do with your feelings. It is important to do something, and quickly. – Know that many other young people feel the same. Find a community where the fear is accepted and use it to get involved, adds Kittelsen. The UN chief uses strong words. But how smart is that? Slow tipping points Bjørn Samset is a physicist and climate researcher at the CICERO Center for Climate Research, and was one of the main authors of the UN’s climate report. He says that climate change is so serious that we have to use a lot of resources to live with it, but that it is not doomsday for society. – Yes, the hotter, the worse. But I don’t want anyone to read the report and think that if we exceed the 2-degree target we are in Dante’s hell, says Samset and continues: – The 2-degree target was set because we see that many types of risk are marked more strongly by that warming. Below two degrees, the changes will “only” be expensive, in the form that we have to carry out climate adaptation. Above two degrees, there is a greater chance that we will have to have a much stronger change – but it is still not a global climate hell. Bjørn Samset is a physicist and climate researcher at CICERO Center for Climate Research. Photo: CICERO He confirms that we have passed some tipping points, such as the melting of ice in Antarctica, but that these are slow: – We know that tipping points exist, but we do not expect that there will be rapid upheavals until we possibly get well above two degrees – and probably not in this century even with much higher warming. – Will the world become uninhabitable? – Researchers use the term “uninhabitable”, but it only applies in some areas. An area with strong heat waves every summer, for example, would be habitable in principle, but too difficult in practice. – Nature will clean up after the party Dag O. Hessen is a professor of biology and researches at the intersection between biology, environment and philosophy. He believes the most important message to those who worry about the climate is that the world is not going to end and people will survive. Dag O. Hessen is professor of biology and researches at the intersection of biology, environment and philosophy. Photo: Private – We should not sink into apathy. Perhaps today’s cultivable places will disappear, but new ones will appear. It is important to see nature loss and climate together. Photosynthesis is an effective CO2 vacuum cleaner, so it helps to take care of the forest you have. Nature will clean up after the party. He believes that it is obvious that situations are serious, but that there are some misunderstandings. – When it comes to species extinction, the situation is not particularly good, but we are talking about a decrease in numbers and not extinction. There is a big difference. The race is by no means over, he reassures. – It is much more expensive to do nothing. Snorre Kverndokk is an economist and researcher at the Frisch Centre. He is also the main author behind the UN Climate Panel’s solution report. He believes that there are many reasonable solutions to the climate crisis, and points out: – It is important to remember that it is much more expensive to do nothing. Snorre Kverndokk is an economist and researcher at the Frisch Centre. He is also the main author behind the UN Climate Panel’s solution report. Photo: John Petter Reinertsen He also points out that much is being done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Kverndokk points out that major technological changes have occurred and are occurring in solar power, wind power, batteries and electric cars. Many countries have falling emissions and 90 per cent of the world’s countries have climate targets, of which 131 countries have net zero targets. Over 50 per cent of emissions are covered by climate laws and 20 per cent of emissions are covered by carbon pricing, explains Kverndokk. A lot also happens at a non-national level, says the climate scientist: – Many cities and regions have climate targets and there is climate cooperation between many of these. The growth rate in CO₂ emissions decreased from 2000-10 to 2010-20, and we have also had years of falling emissions. He states that a lot is happening in climate policy, but not enough. POLLUTION: 50 percent of emissions are covered by climate laws. Photo: LINDSEY PARNABY / AFP
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– The world will not become uninhabitable – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
